It has long been an aim to reduce the dimensions of semiconductor components and therefore also semiconductor diodes and at the same time to simplify their fabrication process.
Previous semiconductor diodes have been distinguished by a vertical flow of current through the semiconductor body of the semiconductor diode, since anode and cathode are arranged on the front surface and back surface or vice versa of the semiconductor body. A semiconductor diode of this type, with a vertical flow of current, therefore inevitably requires back surface processing in addition to front surface processing. However, front surface processing and back surface processing make the fabrication process for a semiconductor diode of this type complex.
Back surface processing could only be avoided by using a lateral semiconductor diode, since with a lateral configuration of this type the flow of current through the semiconductor body is horizontal or lateral rather than vertical, and anode and cathode are both accommodated on the front surface of the semiconductor body.